Monthly Archives: September 2020

Another Full Quarantine (or I Don’t Know Why This Feels Different)

Posted on September 16, 2020 | Comments Off on Another Full Quarantine (or I Don’t Know Why This Feels Different)

I mentioned yesterday that I’m doing another full quarantine right now. I’ve done these twice before and it’s always because I’m getting ready to see my family. Doing it a third time was something I didn’t even have to think about. I knew that if I wanted to see my family, I had to do a full quarantine. This was something my brother told me to do the first time I was going to see everyone, but I also assumed I would have to do it. Although the first time, I misunderstood and did a month of full quarantine. But now, I know it’s 2 weeks.

Doing a full quarantine means I don’t leave my house, even to do essential errands. I don’t go out for anything other than to take my trash to the curb and to walk across my driveway to do laundry. It’s not that different from what I normally do. I don’t do most of my errands in person. There are a few places that I can’t get delivery from or that it’s much cheaper to get if I go to the store. But for the most part, I have everything delivered to me. But even though I don’t leave my house for almost anything, doing a full quarantine feels so different.

Maybe it’s just the idea that I can’t go out to do errands. I don’t necessarily want to go out and about, but knowing I can’t do it feels different. There are things I’d love to go out and get from the store, but I just can’t. If there was something that I needed urgently and I couldn’t get it delivered, I know I could message a friend to see if they could go to the store for me. I’ve done that before with stuff from Trader Joes. But I hate having to ask friends to do errands for me (even though they are doing it when they are at the store too). It’s silly because I would do it in a heartbeat for anyone. I just don’t like having to ask for myself.

Since I knew this 2-week full quarantine was coming up, I tried to make sure I did my errands that had to be done in person at a store ahead of time. I actually didn’t have much I needed to do, so it was easy to get them done. Of course, as soon as I couldn’t go out I realized there was something I wanted to get that I forgot to do. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I could probably wait until after my visit with my family. And if I end up running out of something, I can either find something else I can use or I will ask my friends if anyone is going to the store so they can help me out. I think part of this time has made me very paranoid about running out of things I use. I am trying to make sure I have purchased whatever I need before the one I’m using runs out. For example, I use a specific shaving cream from Trader Joes. In the past, if I ran out in the shower, then I’d go to Trader Joes that afternoon to get another one. It wasn’t a big deal. Now, when it’s starting to feel like it’s getting close to empty I want to go out to buy a new one. I know that I can use something else and that it’s not the end of the world if I have to use a slightly different product, but I like having things that are familiar to me.

Doing a full quarantine is totally worth it so that I can see my family soon. It’s also the only way I can see them and feel like I’m not putting anyone at risk. There is no way that I could get my family sick if I do my quarantine properly. And I don’t want to be scared if I could pass it to someone else. So this isn’t just for everyone else’s safety, but for my peace of mind too. And getting able to see everyone is worth any sacrifices I have to make. I want to be able to see them and I can’t wait until I get to be around people I love! I’m about halfway through my quarantine and I’m counting down the days until I get my reward for doing it!

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6 Months In (or I Want To Hope We Aren’t Doing This For 6 More Months)

Posted on September 15, 2020 | Comments Off on 6 Months In (or I Want To Hope We Aren’t Doing This For 6 More Months)

6 months ago, everything seemed to have changed. The pandemic really changed how life is for so many of us. That was when the old normal ended. I stopped seeing friends, going out, doing things around others, and I started being nervous whenever I had to leave my house. At that time, so many of us thought this was just going to last a month or so. I don’t think any of us believed that 6 months later, we’d still be in the same situation.

I know that there are some states that never really shut down like California did and many have reopened more than we have. But as far as things in LA and California go, we’ve been doing this for 6 months. I know there are some people that are going out with others and taking risks that most of us wouldn’t, but most of the people I know are staying home and staying isolated almost all the time.

I have had a few times I’ve seen people either from a distance or after I have isolated. I’m in the middle of another 2-week quarantine so I can see my family soon. I’ve seen so few people in the last 6 months, I honestly can’t think about it too much or I get really upset.

6 months of no Orangetheory workouts in person. I know that it’s for the best, but it’s so sad and it’s a huge thing that I miss all the time. 6 months of no restaurant meals with friends (except for my birthday socially distant picnic). 6 months of no movies in a movie theater but I have watched a ton of movies on Netflix Party. 6 months of no dates except for phone and virtual dates. In 6 months, I think I have done grocery shopping in person under 10 times (grocery delivery may always be a part of my life now as I’m finding it helpful for managing binges).

Things do seem to be getting better, but I’m worried that they aren’t going to stay better for long. More and more people are going out, even when the guidelines say not to do it. We saw a big spike in cases after people went out for Memorial Day, and I know we are still waiting to see what happened after Labor Day. And even if they are getting better, I don’t know how many risks I want to take. I hate that I’ve gotten so scared to be outside of my house, but that’s the point I’ve gotten to now.

And being 6 months in makes me wonder if we will have to do this for another 6 months. It seems crazy to even think that, but 6 more months would get us to March. With people saying a vaccine might not be until the end of the year, guessing that we will have to do this until March doesn’t seem that crazy. If a vaccine is approved in December, it will take several months for everyone to get it. I don’t want to think about having to do this for another 6 months because I have gotten so lonely already. I feel like I’ve lost time and had so many setbacks and I don’t want to see more time and progress slip away. I’m trying to not be upset over something I don’t know will happen and that I can’t control, but it’s not easy. I’m so tired of dealing with this and sometimes feeling like I’m the only one doing it.

6 months ago, I had no idea what I was in for. I knew that things had changed, but I really clung to the idea that my life would be back to normal before I knew it. Now, it seems like my old life is so long ago and far from where I am now. I don’t know if or when I’ll ever be back to it. All I can do is continue to do what I need to stay safe and healthy and try to be optimistic that I will be able to enjoy some of the things I miss again in the future.

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Workouts Feeling Familiar And Strange (or Still Adjusting To Using Real Weights)

Posted on September 14, 2020 | Comments Off on Workouts Feeling Familiar And Strange (or Still Adjusting To Using Real Weights)

I’ve been able to use my new weights for my workouts for several workouts now, and it’s really hitting me hard with how different my strength is right now. It was so easy to trick myself when I wasn’t able to use real weights that things weren’t that different. But now, it’s very clear what I’m able to do and not do.

A lot of the workouts have parts of it that I’m very used to doing when I had workouts in the studios. I like those familiar exercises because I know how to have good form when I’m doing them and if they are things I need to modify I know those too. It also does make me happy to have something that feels so familiar and like I’m doing the workouts that I’m so used to.

But at the same time, I’m very familiar with the weights that I could use for those exercises before and it’s shocking when I can’t even come close to that. There were some things I was using 25-pound weights before and now it’s a struggle to use 15-pound weights. And it’s so hard to not feel down when I realize how far down I have slipped. I’m trying to see it from a different perspective and look at it as a challenge to get back to where I was. I also am motivated by knowing I can get there again because I was there before.

Just like all the other weeks since I started doing Zoom workouts, the Zoom workout was the hardest one of the week. It also ended up being the workout where I was the most nauseous, which added another level of it being difficult. I tried to work through the nausea as much as I could, but it got very overwhelming at times. I also think I took my anti-nausea meds a bit too late that morning so they didn’t really kick in until after the workout. That’s a problem I’m used to having when I was doing in-studio workouts because of the limited time between waking up and working out, but I hadn’t had that issue since doing the home workouts. But it was a good reminder to be a bit better about timing medications.

I really wanted to get back to using my jump rope this past week, but I didn’t think about it as the week that I would have issues with being nauseous. So that plan didn’t go how I wanted it to and now it will be another week or so before I can try using it. But I hope that I will be able to get back to it then and that I won’t struggle too much when I use it again.

This week of workouts will likely be a tough one for me. I’m getting myself mentally prepared for the struggle and to know that it’s ok if I have to go easy on myself. I think I will always have a hard time being easy on myself, but I guess it’s good that I’m forced to do that by things that happen in my life.

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Things Feel Like They Are Too Much (or Being Informed Might Not Be The Best For Me)

Posted on September 11, 2020 | Comments Off on Things Feel Like They Are Too Much (or Being Informed Might Not Be The Best For Me)

There is no question that things are overwhelming right now. I think it was overwhelming enough when we just had the election. Then add the pandemic, massive job losses, the Black Lives Matter movement, police brutality, racial discrimination, concerns over the availability of food and supplies, misleading news, national disasters, and everything else going on in the world. It’s so hard to find good news these days with all the bad news we are hearing. And while I know it’s a good thing to be informed and to know what is happening in the world, it also isn’t always the best thing.

We have an endless supply of news between the 24-hour news channels, online news, and social media. When we are busy with other things happening in our lives like work and going out, we don’t have as much time to see all the news that never ends. But now, most of us have very little to do each day. I try to stay busy, but some of that busy time is scrolling through social media and then I see all the news as it’s happening. And then sometimes if I see a tweet or a post about something I don’t know about, then I go down a rabbit hole of learning more about it.

There needs to be a balance in my life of staying informed but not being overwhelmed. I know I’ve struggled to find this balance so many times in the past. But it feels so much harder now that I don’t have other things taking up my time. I’ve been trying to take steps to work on this a lot lately. The biggest step I’ve taken is to do daily breaks from my phone. I will put my phone down, turn off notifications, and sit in a different area to read or do something else. I don’t do this too long each time since there are some things I do that are time-sensitive for the little bit of work that I have now, but I can take 15-20 minute breaks a few times a day.

I have found these breaks to be helpful and have been calming me down a bit. I do have some anxiety from not being next to my phone (which is a different issue that I know many of us have), but the positive effects of doing this have easily outweighed the bad. When I take these breaks, I also usually am doing something that distracts me from my phone like watching some tv or reading a book. I know that while you are doing something else you aren’t always looking at your phone, and I typically don’t while reading. But when I’m reading, I have taken time out to scroll through my phone even though I don’t need to. And when I’m watching tv, I’m also usually on my phone doing something too. There are some shows that do get my full attention, but these days I’m watching a lot of random stuff I don’t focus on too much. And while multi-tasking can be a good thing, it’s not necessary for me to do and it’s not helping me.

I know I can’t ignore the news completely because I do like being informed and trying to use my voice and platform to raise voices that need to be heard. I want to be an activist for causes I’m passionate about. I might not be an activist the same way that others are, but I know that I’m taking steps to do what I feel like I can do and handle. I don’t feel comfortable going to protests for a few reasons, but that doesn’t mean I can’t support them or use social media to share my message and what others are saying.

I doubt the news is going to be any less overwhelming for a while. Even if natural disasters aren’t in the news, there are so many other things that will only be intensifying. The closer we get to the election, the more news I know we will be hearing. And after the election, I expect things will still be tough. I need to be mentally prepared for that. And part of that preparation is realizing that sometimes I don’t have to be reading as much news every day to stay informed.

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Trying To Not Pick Up A Dozen New Hobbies (or Finding Things I Can Do For Free)

Posted on September 10, 2020 | Comments Off on Trying To Not Pick Up A Dozen New Hobbies (or Finding Things I Can Do For Free)

During the pandemic, I feel like everyone seems to be discovering new hobbies and things to do. For a while, so many people were learning how to make bread. Then people were expanding to just learning to cook and bake other things. There were a lot of people picking up new crafts like painting or knitting. I loved seeing the things my friends were creating and making. Everyone was so creative and could make amazing things.

I did start doing more cooking and I’ve done a lot of reorganizing around my house, but I don’t think those count too much as hobbies. I never thought about making bread except for a short time when I was craving bread and I couldn’t find it in the store. But now the stores seem to have things again and I’m not really eating bread that much. But as far as artistic hobbies go, I never really have had those before.

I have heard interviews with people talking about how they don’t know if they have hobbies and if that’s a good thing or not. And I feel the same way. If someone asks me what I like to do, I have a small list of things. I like to read, watch tv, go to the movies, go to see musicals, and go to Disneyland. Most of those things are not things I can do right now. And while I know that having a hobby could help to fill my time, I don’t have a pull to do any specific hobby.

I’ve tried to pick things up from time to time because they seemed interesting. I thought adult coloring books seemed like fun a few years ago, but I never really got into them. I did discover an app for my phone that is like a coloring book that I like, so I started to do that more. When I was younger, I did some needlepoint projects, but I was never very good at them. I remember wanting to be better but also not being motivated to try harder. It was something I thought I should be better at and I’m not. That idea was frustrating.

When you see so many people on social media doing new hobbies, it can be hard not to be tempted to find those supplies so you can try it too. I’ve only had one thing this year that did that to me. I discovered some cool videos on cake decorating and using frosting to create things and I thought that might be fun to try. I already had the frosting tips and I found a recipe online of a fake frosting I could make that wouldn’t go back. It’s not tasty so you don’t eat it, but it’s the right consistency to practice with. I got the things I needed for the recipe, and then I never got into it. I do think I should try the decorating videos and I know I’ll do it eventually. But the excitement about trying it was gone once I had everything I needed to do it.

And that’s what scares me about trying hobbies. I don’t want to spend money getting things and then never feel the same push to try them. And there are a million ways I could spend money on introductory kits for hobbies. So while I would love to find something to help fill my time a bit, I don’t want to waste money.

I know there are some things I can try that I either have the supplies for or don’t need much to try, but it always comes down to motivation. I know that sometimes I will be more motivated to try and that’s when I should go for it. I don’t want to force myself to try a hobby when I’m not feeling up for it. I need to get a list going that I can look at in those motivated moments so I can take advantage of when I feel that way.

But I also know that there is no requirement or expectation of me to start a new hobby during this time. Sometimes, it’s just too stressful or overwhelming to do much more than get through the day. But it would be nice to have something to fill my time when I’m craving something to do. So hopefully, I’ll find the perfect combination of something that doesn’t cost me money and I want to do and I can test out that as a hobby. Maybe it will stick and maybe I’ll hate it. But I should at least try.

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Being Ok With Being Bored (or This Is Harder Than I Thought)

Posted on September 9, 2020 | Comments Off on Being Ok With Being Bored (or This Is Harder Than I Thought)

I remember years ago hearing someone say something like “only uninteresting people get bored”. At the time, that made so much sense to me. If you were bored, it was because you couldn’t think of something to do. And even if I had brief moments of boredom, I always knew that it was because I was choosing to not do something interesting. My boredom was always a choice and I knew that I could make a change to fix that. I wasn’t always motivated to make that change, so I accepted being bored and that maybe I was having a moment of not being an interesting person.

I really believed that idea for so long, until this year. Now, boredom is a pretty regular part of my life. I rarely have a day where I am not bored. I am not always bored all day, but sometimes that happens. There are only so many things I can watch or read. I have tried to find new games to play online on my computer or phone, but I’m getting sick of some of those already. Being bored with reading was something I never thought could happen to me. Reading is something that brings me the most joy in my life. I love getting lost in a good book. And there have been some books lately that have made me feel that way. But when I’m going through 4-5 books in a week, they start to blend together and don’t spark my imagination the way they used to.

And I know I’m not alone in this one, but I’m even getting bored with watching things on various streaming services. Again, there are occasional things that get me excited to watch them and I have a great time watching a movie or going through a series. But there are so many things I’ve watched lately and not everything is that interesting. I am trying to find a tv series that I might have missed before that I could binge-watch now. And I have found a few. But because I have nothing happening all day long, it doesn’t take a lot of time to get through a series, even if there are 3 or 4 seasons.

Even when I have been bored in the past, I have always been surprised by how hard it is mentally when you are bored. And this level of boredom is a new level and it’s really a struggle at times. I have tried so hard to find things to keep me busy and life interesting, but there is a limit to what I can do. I don’t know if anyone before would have said that it is so hard to be bored all day because it seems silly to complain about that. Even now, I feel weird complaining about how bored I am. I know that so many people have it harder than I do. There are people working themselves crazy with their jobs and being stressed that they might be putting their lives at risk. I bet most of my friends with kids would love to be bored for a day because their kids are driving them nuts. But just like with other things I’ve learned since the pandemic started, just because other people have different struggles doesn’t mean that mine aren’t important too.

I’m hoping that soon I’ll figure out something else to make life a bit more interesting for me so I don’t feel as bored as often. But if that doesn’t happen, I know I can survive through boredom and I’ll be ok. I just have to make it through this time and eventually, things will be better.

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An At-Home Labor Day (or The Unofficial End To A Weird Summer)

Posted on September 8, 2020 | Comments Off on An At-Home Labor Day (or The Unofficial End To A Weird Summer)

I think most people will agree that Labor Day is the unofficial end to summer. Some schools don’t start until after Labor Day, but I think most start before now. But even with school starting before Labor Day, the long weekend still seems to designate the end of summer for so many people. I think the 3 summer holidays are the markers for summer. Memorial Day is the start, the 4th of July is the middle, and Labor Day is the end.

Even though LA is experiencing the worst heat wave that I can remember, it does feel like we are out of summer and heading into fall. But at the same time, I don’t feel like we had a summer at all. I know there were people who went out and did more things than I did, but so many things that are summer traditions in LA didn’t happen this year. There were no shows at the Hollywood Bowl. Beaches were closed for a lot of the summer, and when they reopened things weren’t really the same. Most restaurants were closed for the summer. And even though it’s safe to do things outside, most outside things that would have a crowd didn’t open. In a way, it doesn’t feel like this summer existed.

I’ve been feeling this way for a while. We are almost 6 months into being told to stay at home and it doesn’t feel like time has moved. I feel like my life has been frozen in time since March. I do feel like others have moved on and I’m the only one stuck, but I know that’s just what I’m seeing on social media. Most of us staying home aren’t posting about it. The few who are not staying home are the ones posting. So the posts I see are from the small portion of the people that I follow who aren’t staying inside.

I know that having a summer spent inside my house was for the best. I have been very lucky with not getting sick or even worried that I could get sick. I didn’t have any moments where I got the call that I was around someone who tested positive. I know a lot of people who weren’t as lucky as me. I have so many friends who tested positive, even if they thought they were doing all the right things such as wearing a mask and only leaving their homes for essential errands. I know people who have died. I know more people who know someone who died. I’m glad I took this seriously even if I feel like I lost my summer.

Labor Day was spent pretty much like any other day the past 6 months. I stayed home. I tried to keep myself busy. I found things to do so the day didn’t drag on too much. And because Labor Day is all about unions and workers’ rights, I took some time to be grateful for my union and all the benefits we have in this country because of what unions have gained for everyone (like 40 hour work weeks and weekends off). 3 day weekends don’t mean much to me normally since I have Mondays off work. It means even less to me now that I’m really not working at all. But I am still going to appreciate what the day means and that’s what I did. And I tried to not be too upset that now it feels like the summer ended and that I didn’t get to experience it at all.

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A Double Hard Workout Week (or I Did Want A Challenge)

Posted on September 7, 2020 | Comments Off on A Double Hard Workout Week (or I Did Want A Challenge)

So many of my workout recap post on here have been about how I know the workouts I’m doing at home are better than nothing, but that they are not close to what I know I was doing at the studio. I have worried about gaining weight, losing muscle, having setbacks for when I finally do get back into the studio, and losing my motivation to do my workouts the way that I was doing them 6 months ago. And while I still think that there will never be a perfect replacement for the in-studio workouts, this past week of workouts was easily the closest I’ve had since I started working out at home. And this was due to 2 things.

First, I finally got to work out with my new weights!

These took a bit longer to get to me than I expected, but now that I have them I’m so happy! As you can see, the weights go from 5-25 pounds in 5-pound increments. While I do use 12- and 17.5-pound weights when I’m in the studio, I didn’t think I would need those for now. I know for sure that I have lost some strength and need to work on rebuilding that. So for things that I used 12-pound weights, I’m using 10. Instead of 17.5-pound weights, I’m using either 15 or 10 (depending on the exercise).

The first workout that I got to use the weights was my Monday workout and I immediately noticed a difference in how I felt after I was done. The workout was so much harder than any other home workout and I was even feeling a bit sore. The weights are pretty easy to use and switch out how heavy or light I want them to be. It’s not as easy as having a set for each weight that I use, but I also know that having a pile of dumbbells would not fit in my house. These are perfect for what I need and they fit in very nicely with the rest of my home workout equipment.

I used my new weights for every workout this past week and I really felt a huge difference. It was a little upsetting and sad when I realized that I cannot do what I used to do. As much as I told myself that would happen, it was hard to see it come true. I know that I can rebuild my strength and muscles and I’ll be back to where I was soon enough. And now that I have some good weights at home, hopefully I’ll be closer to that whenever I’m able to get back into the studio.

The other reason why this past week of workouts was so hard was that I did 2 days of Zoom workouts! The group that I do Zoom workouts with normally does them on Tuesdays and Fridays. I cannot join in for the Tuesdays ones, so I only get to do the Friday workouts. But this past week, things switched up. Instead of Tuesday and Friday, we had Zoom workouts on Wednesday and Saturday! This was only a switch for this week (I wish they could move the Tuesday one to Wednesday, but that schedule doesn’t work for the rest of the group). But it allowed me to have double the Zoom workouts that I normally get to do.

Between the new weights and the Zoom workouts, this was the most challenging and most rewarding workout week in a long time. I want to say this was the best week I’ve had in the 6 months that I’ve had to work out at home so far. I really felt like things were going so much better for me in the workout and that I was doing a really challenging workout and not just goofing off a bit. I know that having these weights is going to help me feel like this a bit for all the rest of the workouts because I do have something that can make the exercises harder. And I can see the progress as I’m able to lift heavier. That’s something I haven’t been able to see since the studios had to close.

After this past week of workouts, I’m on such a high. I needed this challenge and this boost. I have been feeling so low about my workouts and my weight for too long and this really made me feel more in control of things. I know that having weights in my house isn’t going to be a magical fix for everything, but it is a big thing that I know I’ve been needing to have. And now that I have them, I can’t wait to continue to challenge myself and see if I’m able to have any big workout wins like I used to have in the studio.

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Trying To Prevent Zoom Fatigue (or Not Sure If This Is A Pandemic Problem Or Not)

Posted on September 4, 2020 | Comments Off on Trying To Prevent Zoom Fatigue (or Not Sure If This Is A Pandemic Problem Or Not)

When the pandemic started, so many aspects of life changed quickly. Not all the changes were things that were unfamiliar to us, they might have just been slight changes to things we are used to. For example, standing in line at a grocery store is a change, but not a drastic change. Same with trying to only go to the grocery store once a week (I guess there are some people that always did that, but I wasn’t one of them). Those little changes were odd, but not things that threw me off too much. I might have had a bit more stress and felt panicky over things, but there was enough familiar with it that I felt better. I’m sure a lot of people had to adjust to working from home, but that was the easiest thing for me since I always worked from home. But for my friends who never did, they still had enough familiar things that it didn’t feel that different.

But then there were a lot of things that we never used or didn’t use that often that are now things we use a lot. Netflix Party did exist as a browser extension before the pandemic, but I never used it until we were all isolated. Now, it’s a weekly part of my life and I love it! I can see myself using this for a long time, even after the pandemic is over. And I have only seen Netflix Party as a positive thing. I guess there is a negative with not being able to watch on my tv and having to use my computer, but that’s not a huge negative to me.

And while I have used different forms of video chat in the past, I have never used it as much as I am right now. It is funny how Zoom became the default video chat service when there are so many others that have been used before. But Zoom is now almost the generic name for doing a video chat, no matter what the platform is (Zoom is like Xerox now). I know I’m not on Zoom calls as often as many people are, but I’m on them at least once or twice a week. And honestly, being on video calls that often does stress me out a bit. I have no clue how my friends who work 9-5 jobs that have to be on Zoom calls the entire time do it.

A friend of mine who was posting about Zoom fatigue (which is a real thing) was explaining why Zoom calls are so much more exhausting than in-person meetings. When you are on a Zoom call, you have no clue if someone is watching you. You don’t know if someone has their screen in speaker view or gallery view. You don’t know if they are focusing on your video or someone else’s. And always feeling like you might be watched but never knowing is so tiring and a big reason behind Zoom fatigue.

For a long time, I have covered up my webcam. I do this for a few reasons. I don’t want to accidentally turn on my webcam if I don’t want to be on video. I know that some people can hack into them (although I do have security measures on my wifi, you never know), and covering my webcam was something I saw in paperwork for my business insurance. I used to just use a little piece of a post-it note to cover it. I never really used my webcam so the post-it was on there for a long time. And if I did use my webcam, I would just cut down a new piece to replace it. Before the pandemic, I think I would use my webcam maybe once every 2-3 months.

But now, I use it all the time. And I wanted to be able to cover my webcam for the security measures that I was worried about before but I also wanted to cover it for Zoom calls. I know you can turn off video on Zoom, but if I’m going to be jumping in and out as a speaker in a call, it’s just easier for me to cover my camera and not to turn it on and off a lot. So I started looking into better ways to cover the camera than a piece of paper. And fortunately, my search was over almost as soon as it started when I saw there was a cheap and simple solution.

I didn’t realize that webcam slide covers were common and popular. On Amazon, there are dozens of listings for them. And they are pretty much all the same. The differences seem to be either if they are black versus color or how many sliders are in a package. I picked one that had a few sliders in it in case I made a mistake putting it on my laptop or if I ever had to take it off and put a new one on. But so far, I have only needed to use one of them. It was super easy to put on my computer and it doesn’t affect being able to close my laptop or anything else.

So now, when I’m on Zoom calls and don’t want to be watched (like if I’m eating or moving around my house), I can just put the slider over my camera and my screen on Zoom is dark. I’m still listed as a video call, but you don’t see any video. It’s such a simple solution for this problem and I’ve found that it makes my Zoom calls much easier to tolerate. I don’t feel like I’m being watched or that someone is judging me when I’m not the speaker. I feel like I have a bit more privacy while on calls. And it does all the security protections that I had with a post-it note but is much easier to use.

I have no clue if Zoom calls will be this popular for longer than the pandemic, but I know that I’ll be dealing with them for a long time. So I’m glad I have something I can use to try to keep Zoom fatigue to a minimum.

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Still Doing More House Projects (or Just Trying To Find Busy Work)

Posted on September 3, 2020 | Comments Off on Still Doing More House Projects (or Just Trying To Find Busy Work)

Since I’ve been staying in my house, I’ve done so many projects around my house. I’ve done some redecorating, I’ve done organizing things, and I’ve probably done more deep cleans of my house than would be necessary. Sometimes I do these projects because they are things that I’ve been putting off. Some of them have been to just change up the look of my house. And some of them are because I’m bored and have nothing else to do.

I have to be careful with the projects that I do just because I’m bored. If they are things that don’t cost me anything, that’s fine. But a lot of these projects cost me something because I’m buying supplies of some sort. And I don’t want to buy a lot of new things just because I’m bored. I know that I will buy some things when I’m redecorating my house, but I’m also really trying to use the things in my house in a new way that makes them feel different.

Doing projects has been a good way to have a sense of purpose on a day that I might not have anything else going on. I feel a sense of accomplishment if I do something and complete it. It’s silly how proud I can be of myself for some of the things that I have done, but at the same time, I’m going to take a win however I can get them these days.

I think I had a bigger desire to do projects a few months ago. That one was motivated by feeling bored in my house and wanting to have a different view when looking around my place. I have slowed down a lot with the projects or have found random smaller ones to do from time to time. And like I mentioned above, a lot of these projects are also about cleaning my house. My floors and surfaces have never looked better. Of course, I also am using the floors and surfaces as staging areas for other projects, so they can look a bit cluttered. But even if they are cluttered, they are clean.

And when I find a project that does cost me money, I try to be very aware of how much I’m spending and what I really need to get. For example, I recently spent some time online searching for some nice fake plants. As much as I would love to have real plants in my house, I’m not that great at keeping them alive. So fake plants allow me to get the greenery in my house without the potential plant murder. And there are so many nice fake plants online to pick from. Just like with so many things, if I had endless money I would probably buy a ton. But I wanted to keep it limited to maybe one new plant for now. I ended up buying a set of 3 small fake plants that I’m deciding where I want to keep them (right now, all three are in my kitchen window, but I bet I’ll move them a few times within the next week or so).

There are several more fake plants that I have saved online because I love the look of plants in a house. I want to get something to put on the floor near my tv, but I think it’s harder to find good fake plants when they are big without seeing them first. So far, I’ve only bought small ones online. But maybe in a month or two, I’ll change my mind about that.

I’ve also done a lot of organizing and cleaning of the random stuff I’ve had around my house. I don’t want to collect things that I don’t use, but I also struggle a bit letting things go because I’m scared I might need them eventually. But I have been getting better at that and then also organizing whatever I have left. It’s a process doing this and I’m taking small steps, but I have gotten a lot of stuff out of my house that I really don’t need (and either have it stored for donating or friends have taken things). This week, I worked on organizing my purses/tote bags/travel carryons. I pretty much only use one purse for my day to day life. I have a few fancy purses and a few other random ones. But I have a lot of tote bags and carryon sized bags. I went through them all, found the ones I haven’t used or don’t like anymore, and put up command hooks in my entry closet to hang up the ones I’m keeping.

I’m sure that I’ll find more random projects and organizing things to do this week and going forward. As I said, I need things to keep me busy and not just have my day be a nothing day. It’s probably a good thing I live in such a small house because there are only so many things I can do. I can’t imagine all the projects I could think up if I had more rooms to do them in!

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